The Foote School: China Exchange

• On their last full day in China the group first went first to the post office to mail postcards home. Then they visited Tiananmen Square, where Carl was docent. He gave a detailed presentation on the uses of the Square from the Ming Dynasty to today. It is the largest public Square in the world– the size of 60 soccer fields! mao

The group also had the traditional photo taken in front of the huge image of Chariman Mao at Mao Zedong Memorial Hall.

• From the Square they headed to the Forbidden City, so named because it was off limits to most people for 500 years. Lamar was docent and described it as largest palace in the world, with 900,000 rooms. It served as the Imperial Place until the reign of the last emperor ended, which the students could relate to since they had seen (and discussed) "The Last emperor," as part of their Friday Film Series.

• A dumpling lunch was followed by rides in peridcb

pedicabs (rickshaws with bikes, shown in photo) through the hutongs, the ancient narrow alleys with tiny homes typical of old Beijing and very near the Forbidden City. They also visted the 2008 Summer Oylmpics sites: the National Stadium (aka The Bird's Nest) and the National Aquatics Center (aka the Water Cube)

Back at the hotel, they had a kind of closing "ceremony," where everyone shared what he or she had observed about the person they were assigned to observe on the trip. (All students and teachers "observed" and had an "observer.") Deb Riding says this was very positive and a high point, bringing out so much of what everyone learned.

Finally, they enjoyed a farewell dinner with their excellent host, Zhu Weifang. Dinner incuded a cabaret and Sean became part of the show.

When we talked with Deb Riding the group was packing. The last site to be visited is on the trip to the airport: the Yonghe Gong Lama Temple, a Tibetan Buddhist temple, where Cameron wil be docent. After the plane lands in Newark, Deb will call with the time the group expects to arrive on New Haven. (Students will also be calling their parents directly.) We will post this information on the homage.

posted 3/18/10

March 17 – Hiking on the Great Wall

Immediately after breakfast the travellers left for a two-hour ride to the Great Wall.

There, before they began their hike along the wall from Jinshanling to Simatai, Joey was docent. They were joined on the walk by Zhu Weifang's daughter, a psychology professor, and a friend of hers. Deb reported that the 7-mile hike, which took about 5 hours, mostly up steps, was challenging and very rewarding. The weather was beautiful and sunny, with a slight breeze, and the students were great at helping each other out in a few slightly slippery spots. (There was still some snow on the wall.) The views of the mountains and the surrounding villages were spectacular throughout the hike.

Back at the hotel, they were joined by students in Weifang's English class, and groups of four joined with groups of four Foote students to have dinner together in a variety of places. While the students were out eating, Deb, Karla, Weifang and Brad had a St. Patrick's Day dinner in Brad's honor. The meal included green dumplings!

When the sudents returned they and their new Chinese friends had a Karoke party in the hotel. Tomorrow: the Forbidden City and Tianamen Square.

March 16 – In and Around Beijing

After breakfast at their Beijing hotel, the group visited the Temple of Heaven, a round Taoist temple, which was constructed – with no nails – in the 15th century (see photo) heaven

. Richard was docent and gave an outstanding presentation. Thet also participated in a tea ceremony at a tea house on the grounds of the temple.

The afternoon was spent at the Hong Qiao market – a five-story building filled to capacity with tiny booths. The students have become most adept at bargaining and enjoyed using their new skill.

Dinner was at the famous Quanjude Peking Duck Restaurant. The corridors are filled with photos of dignitaries from all over the world who have dined there, including – to our students' great interest – Richard M. Nixon.

On the itinerary for tomorrow is a 7.5 mile walk along the Great Wall.

posted 3/15/10

March 15 – In Xi'an and on to Beijing

The group walked to the Great Mosque, where Brandi was docent and described the Hui, a minority in China, and their history and experiences. The Great Mosque is the largest mosque in China and combines Chinese and Arabic influences, for example, Chinese and Arabic calligraphy side by side. Next was a visit to the Drum Tower, where docent Walker was actually able to beat a drum. Historically, the drums were used each evening to signal the closing of the city walls. The Foote travellers also enjoyed an exciting drumming performace.

Sean was the City Wall docent, and described the importance of the Wall throughout history. xian

The day was too rainy to rent bicycles, but the group did take a walk along the wall. At the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, a Buddhist temple, the students saw monks in saffron robes, and for the first time at a Foote vist to the site, everyone was able to walk to the top and enjoy the incredible view. The students had a traditional Chinese winter dish for lunch – a hot pot. Since they had experienced this in New Haven as part of their trip preparation, they understood the process, thus amazing their guide.

Nobel was docent at the Museum of the Terra Cotta Soldiers, telling his classmates that each of the 7,000+ soldiers has distinctive facial features and hair stlyles. The students had made models of the Terra Cotta Soldiers in their art class, so felt very connected to this site.

The group then headed for the overnight train to Beijing. The Xi'an train station was jam packed and very hard to maneuver. Lamar had the idea of forming a human chain, with each student and teacher holding on to the the backpack of the person in front. It worked, and no one was lost. Once they boarded, they found four cozy compartments in a row, and all got a good night's sleep. They awoke as they neared Beijing – and saw 3 inches of snow on the ground!

The Beijing train station was easier to maneuver, with improved signage from previous years, and the group easily found their host – Zhu Weifang. An English professor in Beijing, she did research on the founding of Yali and other missionary activities at Yale several years ago. She stayed with Foote MAG teacher Betty Whitney and has become a valued Foote friend.

After checking in to the Beijing Foreign Studies University Hotel, cleaning up, and enjoying a great lunch, the travelers visited the Summer Palace (photo). sumpal

Nat was docent. It was a cold and windy day, but everyone loved the hike up to the Buddhist temple on the grounds.

Next was an incredible acrobatic show. Deb Riding reported that this was the fourth time she had been to an acrobatic show in China, but this one was way over the top. Needless to say, the students loved it.

The group had dinner in a prviate dining room in the hotel and celebrated Zhu Weifang's birthday with a cake. She, in turn, described her history. She was born the same year as the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and in many ways her story is the story of the country. She started out as a Red Guard and ended up a college professor who travels abroad to study and do research.

After dinner the tired student opted for an early-to-bed evening.

March 13 – Last Morning in Changsha

The travellers spent their last morning with their individual host familes, walk

doing a variety of activities. Some climbed Mount Yuelu, the highest peak in Changha; some stayed home and made dumplings; others rode the ferris wheel. They all met back at Yali Middle School for very tearful goodbyes and headed to the airport. They were so laden with gifts from their Yali hosts, (including a Yali school uniform for each member of the Foote delgation) that they stopped on the way to purchase several new bags!

At the airport they passed through security only to find their plane had a three-hour delay. The students were great, Deb Riding reports. "It's all part of the experience," Joey said cheerfully. Richard appreciated the time to take a deep breath and write in his journal.

Arriving in Xi'an after 9 p.m., the group headed directly to dinner after checking in at the Bell Tower Hotel. Midnight was lights out.

Tomorrow (Sunday) sometime between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. New Haven time, while on the train to Beijing, the students will be trying to call their parents. There's no guarantee of good reception, but they are hopeful and looking forward to describing their adventuress to date.

For a photo gallery of the trip so far click here.

March 12 – Yali and Changsha

The students are enjoying their homestays, which have been both restful and delightful. In fact, Deb Riding reports, that they would be happy to stay with their families for the entire trip. They were back at Yali's main campus today and visited the Yali history museum, which was built in honor of the school's 100th anniversary. They were happy to see a photo taken at Foote on display! yaliclass

They next took a bus to Yali Boarding School, where they participated in a flower arranging class. After touring the school's brand new arts building, they joined classes ranging from ballet to piano to zither. They also reunited with many of their e-pals, who gave them full campus tours. The morning finale was an obstacle race with Yali-Foote students racing in teams of two. Deb Riding ran with Principal Sun.

In the afternoon they visited a traditional Chinese open-air market (much more commonly in use than the market they visited in Changsha), where they discovered how beautiful quail eggs are and sampled cane sugar (which they first thought was bamboo). Not easy to eat, but delicious!

After a visit to the Hunan Province Museum, where Sam did a great job as docent, the travellers headed back to the main Yali campus, where each person was assigned to a grade 10 class. In the 45 class meeting, our students contributed impromptu presentations ranging from descriptions of their family to songs and dances. The Yali students presented too.

The Farewell Banquet that evening, hosted by President Liu, included all former Foote guest teachers. Aferwards the students returned to their host families, and the teachers joined the Yali teachers for a late evening foot massage.

March 11 – At Yali Middle School and Yali Foreign Language School

The day began with a group meeting, then the travelers walked across the street to Yali Middle School for the Welcome Assembly. Deb Riding reports that it was the "bes welcome10

t ever." The exchange of gifts was fun and light-hearted, and the Yali students loved the performance of the Foote jazz ensemble.

The whole Foote group did the stick dance (learned for last year's May Day) and then a hip hop number to great applause. The Yali students also performed, including a version of the peacock dance the students saw at Foote's Chinese New Year's celebration in February. After the assembly, the Foote students attended an English class.

Yali has opened a third school, Yali Foreign Language School, which will serve grades 7-9, but in its first year has a seventh grade only. Our travellers attended class there, too, and were treated to a special lunch in the cafeteria. When the Footies boarded the bus to leave, the Yali students pounded on the bus with excited goodbyes, making them feel like rock stars.

The afternoon tour of the 1,000-year-old Yuelu Confucian Academy freinds

was fabulous. Docent Gabe told everyone that it is the oldest of the ancient Confucian schools in China still standing. Yali students had also prepared for the visit, and toured the Foote students in small groups. Everyone listened to a live performance with musicians playing ancient – and very unusual – Chinese instruments with a high, deep sound: little bells (as small as 6 inches), big bells (2.5 feet), and an unusual stringed instrument.

The day was capped off by a visit to Orange Island in Changsha, where everyone flew kites. Then they were off to spend the night with their individual host families.

posted 3/11/10

March 10, 2010 – From Hong Kong to Changsha

The final morning in Hong Kong was sunny and warm, and the whole group took a walk in Kowloon Park, where they witnessed lots of people practicing Tai Chi. While in the park, they also visited the aviary with amazing exotic birds such as flamingos. Everything was in bloom from azaleas to birds of paradise. Spring! And a lesson learned: even those students who felt they were not quite ready for the required early morning walk had a wonderful time!

After a sad goodbye to guide Damian (whom the students nicknamed "Damian the Spy") and quick two-hour flight to Changsha,

the group was warmly greeted at the airport by several former Yali guest teachers, including Joshua and Li Yu. They were bearing a welcome banner signed by all the Yali students who had visited Foote in the fall. After settling into their rooms at the Nanfeng Hotel, located directly across from Yali Middle School, the students walked to a grocery store in the busy neighborhood to get a perspective into how families eat in China.

After dinner in the hotel restaurant with several of the former Yali guest teachers, most students went to bed by 9 p.m. Walker was the only one who went along with Brad and Karla to a local park, where locals dance and do exercises in groups.

Deb Riding said the students are noticing the difference between Hong Kong and mainland China and between being a tourist and being a guest; she added that they are regularly taking time as a group to reflect on their experiences.

Tomorrow promises to be a busy day: the students are performing in the Yali welcome assembly, attending classes, and participating in school activities. Tomorrow evening they will meet their host families and begin their homestays.

posted 3/10/10

March 9, 2010 – A Day of Adventures in Hong Kong

Despite chilly temperatures (upper 40° F) and rain, the group had a great day in Hong Kong. They travelled on the underground (the MTR) to the Wong Tai Sin Daoist Temple, where Clay did a great job as docent. They all had their fortunes told, and Deb Riding reports that students were required to ask the fortune teller a question. The most common one: "Will I be successful in high school?" At the temple they also lit incense to send good wishes to their families.

They took the MTR back to the Kowloon Peninsula and enjoyed a dim sum lunch on the harbor, with its great views. After lunch they boarded the ferry for Hong Kong island. (See photo; click on the photo to enlarge it.) It was Noble's birthday and he wanted to visit BAPE (a high-end department store), which everyone enjoyed. They then took a tram to the top of Victoria Peak. It was windy and a little rainy, but the views were great.

A bus trip around Hong Kong island included a visit to the Stanley Market. Some of the group went to the beach, and took off their shoes to wade in the South China Sea.

After a stop back at their hotel, the group met the Tam family, whose sons David and Duncan were Foote students until the family moved to Hong Kong in 2008. They all walked to a restaurant for a dinner the Tams had arranged. There was birthday cake, of course, for Noble.
After dinner about half the group went back to the hotel to get some sleep. The other half explored the night market.

posted 3/9/10

March 8, 2010 – Ninth Graders, Teachers Arrive in China

In a telephone call to the school early Monday morning New Haven time, an ebullient Deb Riding reported that the travelers had arrived safely in Hong Kong. It was 11:20 p.m. in Hong Kong, and the group was having a quick dinner at a noodle house across from their hotel. Deb said the flight, while undeniably long, was very pleasant and the kids held up really, really well. She says they are all very happy and excited to be in China. The group has the same guide as last year, so Foote already has a good relationship with him and he understands what they are looking for. In addition to Deb Riding, teachers Brad McGuire and Karla Matheny are accompanying the students.

Once again, each student is prepared to be a docent at a particular site on the itinerary. Clay is ready to be the first at the Wong Tai Sin Daoist Temple tomorrow.

Deb Riding is a sixth grade teacher and coordinator of the Foote-China Program. This is her fourth trip to China with Foote students, and she will be calling the school each day with detailed updates on the trip. Those updates will be posted here ASAP, so check back frequently.

Complete Itinerary
posted 3/8/10

Yali Middle School Visits Foote

From September 30 to October 3, 2009 a delegation of 22

students from Foote's sister school, Yali Middle School in Changsha, China, visited Foote, attending classes and getting to know the school, the students and the faculty. This was the third year in a row that Yali students and faculty visited Foote. The students all stayed with Foote host families, just as Foote students stay with Yali familes when they visit China in the spring. The Chinese students also joined Foote ninth graders on a field trip to the West River, part of a multi-year Foote study of ecology of the river. Click here for the New Haven Register's October 7 story on the visit. You'll find more photos of the visit on our Scrapbook pages.

Foote School Visits China

When Foote's ninth grade students and several teachers visited China in March of 2009, one of them called the school each day to report on their adventures and activites, which were then posted on the web for friends and families to read. Click here for that daily diary.

Foote and China: How It All Began

Foote’s international partnerships began when Henry Fan approached the Yale-China Association in 1998 with the idea of a U.S.-China teacher exchange program. He envisioned a link between Huizhen Academy, the independent elementary school he had founded four years earlier in Ningbo and an American elementary school.

Established in 1901, the Yale-China Association is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote mutual understanding between Chinese and Americans through teaching and service. They suggested Mr. Fan meet with then head of School Jean Lamont and together, working with staff from Yale-China, they began to develop a program that brought teachers annually from Huizhen to teach at Foote for a semester and allowed Foote teachers to travel to China and teach at Huizhen.

Student Travel Begins

In 2004, thanks to a foundation grant that provided funding so the trip could be made available to all ninth graders, eight pioneer students, with teachers Hannah Leckman and Adam Soloman, visited Huizhen Academy over spring vacation.

A New Connection: Yali Middle School

Starting in 2005, Foote began an exchange with a middle school founded in Changsha in 1906 by Yale. Yali (an early Chinese china

transliteration of "Yale") Middle School was known throughout China in the first half of the century for the quality of its instruction. In 1951, the municipal government took over administration of the school, moved it to its present 17-acre campus in the center of the city, and changed its name to the Changsha Number Five Middle School. In 1985, with the re-establishment of relations with Yale-China and with the support of its Chinese alumni, the school was renamed and is once again known as Yali Middle School.

Yali is a "key" secondary school, receiving priority in funding and faculty recruitment. Yale-China currently sends four Fellows to teach at Yali Middle School each year.
Photos: Upper right: Foote students in a computer lab at Yali. Above, left: Foote students and faculty on the Great Wall in 2009.

March 18 –Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and Packing Up

March 17 – Hiking on the Great Wall

March 16 – In and Around Beijing

March 15 – In Xi'an and on to Beijing

March 13 – Last Morning in Changsha

March 12 – Yali and Changsha

March 11 – At Yali Middle School and Yali Foreign Language School

March 10, 2010 – From Hong Kong to Changsha

March 9, 2010 – A Day of Adventures in Hong Kong

March 8, 2010 – Ninth Graders, Teachers Arrive in China

Yali Middle School Visits Foote

Foote School Visits China

Foote and China: How It All Began